James Marcus obit

Clockwork Orange Actor James Marcus Has Died 

He was not on the list.

Marcus was born as Brian T. James in Romford, Essex on 23 June 1942. He is best known for his performance as Georgie, one of the droogs in Stanley Kubrick's controversial film A Clockwork Orange (1971). Before becoming an apprentice printer, he spent the majority of his teenage life performing gigs. After studying acting courses at the 15 Drama School in London, he had several roles in plays based on the works of Shakespeare. His first appearance on TV was the BBC show Hello, Good Evening and Welcome (1968). He also landed a role in the 1969 war comedy, The Virgin Soldiers.

In 1970, Kubrick got in touch with the young actor for an audition for his upcoming project, an adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange. Apart from his fight scenes, Kubrick was also impressed by James's dark demeanour and this won him the role. During filming, Kubrick described James as "very professional".

His other television appearances include UFO, Softly, Softly: Taskforce, The Sweeney, Doctor Who, Z-Cars and The Professionals. He also appeared in the Robin Askwith vehicle Let's Get Laid (1977) with John Clive, another Clockwork Orange actor. He also appeared in The Naked Civil Servant (1975) with John Hurt, and McVicar (1980) with Roger Daltrey.

One of his other memorable roles is that of station officer Sidney Tate in the pilot and series 1–3 of the popular LWT Fire fighting drama London's Burning. He also directed the nihilistic Tank Malling (1989) which featured Ray Winstone.

In August 2024, acting union Equity announced that Marcus had died.

Television

Year     Title            Role            Other notes

1969    The Doctors            Postman          1 episode

1970    The Borderers            Stallholder       1 episode

1970            Manhunt         Private            1 episode

1970    Special Branch L.A.C. Higgs    1 episode

1971    UFO            SHADO Operative            1 episode

1971    Softly Softly: Task Force   Jeff            1 episode

1974    Doctor at Sea   Eddie            1 episode

1974    The Chinese Puzzle            Johnson          6 episodes

1974    Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs            Peasant            1 episode

1975    The Sweeney            Myles            1 episode

1978    Doctor Who: Underworld            Rask            3 episodes

1980–1989            Minder            Bertie/Phil/Morrie            3 episodes

1981    The Chinese Detective            Charlie            2 episodes

1986            C.A.T.S Eyes  2nd Observer            1 episode

1986            Casualty          Bill            1 episode

1986–1990            London's Burning            Sidney Tate     22 episodes

1991            Dodgem         Tucker            3 episodes

1992–1995            Woof!            Sgt Caldwell            5 episodes

1993    You Bet!            Himself/Sidney Tate

1995            Heartbeat        Clive Loxton 1 episode

2001            Eastenders        Sid            1 episode

 

Film

Year     Title            Role            Other notes

1969    The Virgin Soldiers              Uncredited

1971    A Clockwork Orange Georgie           

1975    The Naked Civil Servant            Clerkenwell Tough       

1976    Escape from the Dark              

1978    Let's Get Laid            Rusper

1980            McVicar         Det Sgt Sewell 

1980    Never Never Land            P.C. Stubbs